Abstract
Imaging methods háve integrál part in examination of patients with suspected axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA). The method of choice remains plain radiography.
Radiography enables imaging of inflammatory structural lesions of sacroíliac (Sl) joints and spině, but it is also tool to assess disease progression in time. Nevertheless plain radiography lacks the sensitivity for early inflammatory changes of axial skeleton in spondyloarthritis; an issue is also the assessment of Sl joint for its complex anatomy.
Alternativě for structural lesions assessment is computed tomography (CT) imaging that is able to visualize very accurately bone structures and Sl joint as a whole without interference or overlap with surrounding soft tissue. New technics of low-dose CT enable up to two times more accurate imaging of Sl joint with radiation dose comparable to plain radiography.
The only imaging technique that visualizes not only structural lesions, but actual inflammatory process as well, is magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). MRI is method of choice for examination of individuals with short disease duration, enables early diagnosis and start of adequate therapy for patients with axSpA.